The
Spontaneity of Media Interviews

Sabine Kowal,
Mary R. Bassett, and Daniel C. O'Connell

Abstract

The aim of this study is to show that,
for effective communication in interviews, media professional sometimes speak
spontaneously instead of reading their questions. The research question arises from
the incompatibility of ideal delivery, on the one hand, and the concept of spontaneity as
hesitant and therefore defective, on the other. In a 2 X 2 ( speakers X tasks)
within-subject design, readings and interviews of prominent American TV network anchormen
(W. Cronkite and D. Rather) are compared in terms of temporal and hesitation
variables. The results indicate differences between the two types of speaking in
pause duration, variance of articulation rate per phrase-length unit, occurrence of pauses
at various syntactic positions, the relationsyhip between pause duration and pause
position, and occurrence of vocal hesitations (filled pauses, repeats, and false
starts). The findings are interpreted in terms of a neglected but basic concept
required for any theory of language use--communicative intent.